By and large, AT&T's LTE expansion efforts have lagged behind those put forth by Verizon Wireless. But when it all comes down, a lot of has to do with spectrum. Those who have plenty of it, have plenty of opportunities to blanket areas. Those without it, starve. Now, AT&T has announced that it has made final a $1.9 billion spectrum buy from rival VZW, which will significantly improve its LTE reach in a whopping 18 states. In other words, those looking for more LTE coverage on AT&T will see some major improvements in the near future.

The acquisition will add meaningful 700MHz Band B block spectrum to AT&T's coffers, including licenses that cover 42 million people in the following states: California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

Now, here's the real question: will customers be asked to help shoulder that huge price tag? Probably.